From Feb. 22 to March 7, students and faculty at Ryerson ditched the drugs and alcohol to participate in #14DaysDry. The campaign aimed to raise awareness and support for those struggling with addiction by hosting several events and activities across campus.
- Let’s Get Physical LTPB (February 26) Student Akemi Liyanage takes a selfie as she tests out the beer goggles.
- Let’s Get Physical LTPB (February 26) Students Esther Olukayode (left) and Angela Tobias (Right) battle it out on Wii bowling while wearing the beer goggles.
- Let’s Get Physical LTPB (February 26) Student Esther Olukayode tries to step directly on the cardboard footprints while wearing beer goggles. The exercise is supposed to show students how hard it can be to walk in a straight line when you’re intoxicated.
- What’s in a Real Drink? (March 2) Organizer Camille Delacy from Ryerson’s Residence Council demonstrates the pouring activity. To play the game, participants choose their drink of choice, pour what they think is a standard drink into the orange cup and then transfer it into a green cup. The green cup is marked with the standard drinking sizes for beer, wine and liquor.
- What’s in a Real Drink? (March 2) First-year psychology student Connor Starks plays the pouring game. He chose vodka as his drink of choice and poured almost double the size of the recommended 1.5 oz per hour. “I thought (the game) was actually really interesting because I didn’t know how many drinks you were allowed to have with the regulated drink per hour system,” Starks said. “I also didn’t realize I put way too much alcohol in my drinks, so that’s very important to know.”
- What’s in a Real Drink? (March 2) A student stops by the #14DaysDry activity table to talk about the pouring game. Organizers explain that the objective of the game is for students to see the potential harm that comes out of pouring drinks for others or others pouring drinks for them. Since a glass of wine may vary from person to person, students run the risk of over-consuming alcohol.
- Slamming with Style: Poetry Slam (March 3) The Slamming with Style Poetry Slam was one of the more well-attended events of the two-week schedule. Sixty-five students attended the event and of those, 17 performed.
- Slamming with Style: Poetry Slam (March 3) Carlo Torres of Ryerson’s Poetic Exchange student group performs a piece about being a nuclear bomb of love. He encouraged the audience to be a positive beacon to the world, ending off his poem by inviting them to “come explode with (him).”
- Slamming with Style: Poetry Slam (March 3) First-place poetry slam winner Cassandra Myers received plenty of applause from the entire room. Her piece about superficiality on Tinder and female self-respect earned her high 8’s and 9’s out of a possible ten from the judges.
- Slamming with Style: Poetry Slam (March 3) Runner-up Jacob Augustin was the first competitor to take the mike. He performed “Five Things I’d Say to My Grade Eight Self,” giving his younger self advice about the things he has now come to learn.
- Slamming with Style: Poetry Slam (March 3) Third-place winner Angelo Robb presents a thematic piece related to the #14DaysDry campaign. He speaks about a friend struggling with drug addiction and how their relationship was strained because of his friend’s selfishness and bad choices.
- Mindful Yoga (March 4) Preston Wilder, a residence advisor and second-year performance dance student, participates in a mindful yoga session. "I love the physicality of hit and the positive energy I feel afterwards,” Wilder says. “Yoga can be helpful because it offers an activity, something physical, something mental and time outside of a negative environment.”
- Mindful Yoga (March 4) Yoga instructor Brian D’Souza leads the mindful yoga class. "I think addiction is kind of a pattern. It's something internal that people are going to gravitate towards and if they can find a healthy activity, something positive, they can equally make that a passion or a focus,” he says. “With a yoga course we're helping ourselves--we're not harming our body."
Alexis graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015.
Follow: @AlexisNews4U